If this is a dream, never let me wake
by GoodGodGertie
Summary: Apollo finds himself alone in a new apartment after the Wright and Co. Law office is back in business. Strange thing is that he isn't alone at night when he goes to sleep. This story introduces an OC and features a good part of the cast from the first 4 games. This is my first fanfic so please be nice and give some criticism to make this better.
1. Prologue: Sleepless Nights Culmination

It's another sleepless night in the world of Apollo Justice as he keeps hearing his border collie making funny noises in the living room of his apartment. Annoyed that he can't focus on his next homicide case he goes out to find Drake looking like he is chasing his tail and snapping at it as well.

"Drake," Apollo calls to him as he immediately comes to and stares at him with a happy-go-lucky smile. "Are you out here playing with the ghosts again?" he said just amusing himself as Drake came running over wanting Apollo to pet him and love on him.

"Well, I wouldn't doubt it. It's always sad and creepy here at night, buddy." He was right, not too long after Phoenix had acquired his badge back and passing the California State Bar, the Wright and Co. Law firm was back in business which left Apollo without a place to stay. Nick, Trucy, and Apollo went hunting for weeks before finding an apartment that suited Apollo just right. Unfortunately for him, the manager of the complex actually said there were ghosts in the apartment.

"Come on Drake, we got a long day tomorrow. Hopefully this time, Mr. Wright will show up on time to the case," Apollo said jokingly as they headed for the bedroom. He shut the door behind him and Drake had already curled up on his bed while Apollo put on his pajamas and set his alarm for 8 AM. "Good night Drake." Apollo shut off his light on the night stand and rolled over and fell fast asleep, but little did he know that he wasn't alone that night.

**Well, this is my first fanfic. I hope this is a good teaser as to what it may become and open to whatever comments you guys leave. Happy reading.**

**Signed,**

**GGG (AKA: Frank)**


	2. Chapter 1: Back to the Grind

The alarm blasted in Apollo's ear and immediately yelled "What a goal by Kopitar!..." He then realized that he wasn't at a hockey game and startled Drake.

"…Sorry buddy. That goal horn alarm just sounds good when you're sleeping. It's like you're there," chuckled Apollo. He rubbed his eyes, stretched and let out a big yawn as he swung his feet to the outside of his bed. It was 8 AM on the dot and he and Nick had to be at the courtroom at 10 so he gave him a call to check if he is awake. He dialed the office number and heard it ring about nine times.

On the other end, a Gumshoe, scruffy looking Phoenix Wright was rolling on his bed and yelling for Trucy to answer the phone since she is the one that is always up this bright and early.

"Hello, Wright and Co. Law office? Trucy speaking."

"Good morning Trucy, how's my little sister this morning?" Apollo said courteously.

"Hey, Polly! I'm good, not sure about daddy. He's still hitting the snooze button on his clock. If he wants to keep being a lawyer from now on he needs to stop that," Trucy laughed. Phoenix had been trying to stop being as lazy as he was before he got his badge back but most times to no avail.

"Tell me something I don't know Truce," Apollo chuckled along, "Put the phone next to his ear. I have an idea to wake him up."

"Ok!" Trucy exclaimed with joy. She quietly snuck into the room where her daddy slept. "Go for it Polly," she said quietly.

Upon a sudden, Apollo belts out with his chords of steel, "WAKE UP MR. WRIGHT!" Nick flailed like a fish out of water and scared him half to death. He took the phone out of Trucys' hand as she was laughing like an idiot and so was Apollo on the other side of the phone.

"Not funny," Nick said with a mix of sleepiness and anger in his voice, "Do that again and you're fired Polly."

"Hey now, who was it that helped you get your name cleared, badge back, and cleaned up the office to attract clients back to Wright and Co.?" questioned Apollo.

"It was a joint effort Apollo and you know it. You and Edgeworth helped out on getting me back in the game while we all cleaned up the office—"

"And you still look terrible yourself." Apollo quipped, getting a quick laugh and a smile across Nicks face finally. There was a silence coming from Nick for about 5 seconds and he retorted "Ok, but I still look better than you in a suit and my hair is more incredible than your antennas."

Laughter ensued from all who were involved as the conversation came to a close and both men respectively got ready for the morning. Apollo let Drake outside in the closed in fence while he took his shower and freshened up. He looked into the mirror laughing "Ha! And he says my hair isn't as good as his." As he kept going he wiped the fog off his mirror and seen someone standing behind him. Shocked, he turned around with his pistol to find no one there. "_Huh? I could have sworn I seen a woman standing behind me… man, I got to shake it off. Must still be early in the morning for me,_" thought Apollo. But she seemed so real when he looked in the mirror, he turned around again and seen no one in the mirror this time. He let Drake back into the apartment when he greeted Apollo with another happy-go-lucky smile.

Apollo walked out the door and locked it behind him. With his bag in tote, he walked to the lot where is Charger was parked and drove to the office. It was a relatively short drive to the office from his apartment, most in part of Apollo blasting rock and roll music in his car and singing aloud with it. While stopped at a red light, something caught Apollo's attention. A woman just walking down the street and gave a passing glance in his direction.

"_Wow_," thought Apollo, "_She is beautiful!_" She gave him a quick smile and wave as if she knew him for the longest time. "_Then again, my luck with women hasn't been all that great. Hell, I can't even remember when my last girlfriend was. Plus, my last attempt ended with me embarrassing myself in front of Ema… Oh god, that was terrible._" The woman kept walking as she disappeared into a department store, leaving a good impression on Apollo's mind.

"Man, what I would do to have a shot with her. I would do-," Apollo's phone rang out and had Nick showing up on screen.

"Apollo Justice speaking."

"Hey Apollo, I'm finally all set and ready to go," Nick said calmly, Apollo let out a sigh of relief.

"Good. I'm close Mr. Wright. Let's go over a few things first. The autopsy report shows that the victim in this case, Marcellus Vincent, was shot twice in the knees and then finally shot once through the bottom of his chin and out the top of his head. Time of death was recorded at 3:48 AM but they don't know what killed him."

"Lovely… Wait, what? They don't know what killed him? Did they seriously state that in the autopsy?" puzzled Nick, rubbing the backside of his head.

"They don't know whether he bled out from the shots to the knees or if the shot to the head killed him. The coroner's office is looking into it further," Apollo said calmly. "_Still sounds like a royal mess any way you look at it."_

"Hmm, interesting. Usually, they would have figured it out by now."

"What's better is that I dove back into Mr. Vincent's rap sheet and found a great deal of information of how he was closely affiliated with the LA crime family the Bartullos. Sounds like he got on their bad side," Apollo kept looking through the file and didn't notice the upcoming red light and slammed on the brakes.

"Apollo, what was that?" questioned Nick

"Ugh…" Apollo was breathing heavily, "Oh… nothing. Nothing at all," lied Apollo.

"Now now Apollo, I've been a lawyer for too long and I know you are lying out your ass on that one. Just keep your eyes on the road and come and get me," Nick ordered.

Apollo hung up the phone and felt a bead of sweat roll off his brow. "_Oh great, I'm not even in the courtroom yet and already getting nervous._" He arrived at the office and seen a clean cut, clean shaved Phoenix Wright on the front steps with a briefcase in hand. Apollo gave out a chuckle as he rarely ever seen Nick in his suit and tie.

"What are you laughing at?" smiled Nick, "You never saw a real man in a suit before?" Both were laughing in the car waiting on Trucy to come out the door. As she did, Apollo laughed again, "What? No grand entrance for the Great Trucy Gramarye?"

"You be quiet mister. Let's get to the courtroom, the judge wanted to see my new trick that I learned this summer before the trial," beamed Trucy.

"Alright guys buckle up and hang on," said Apollo as he revved up the engine, gave a smirk, and sped off toward to the courthouse. He pressed a button on his steering wheel, "Please state your command"

"Play Copperhead Road."

The song blared as Apollo raced to the courthouse. Trucy with her hands over her ears and her daddy nodding his head to the beat, they made the trip short. Apollo pulled into the spot where he was told to go to and Trucy was beside herself.

"How can you listen to that crap, Apollo? Don't you know that country music is crap?"

"Wrong. Its rap is crap, Trucy. It's the stuff that you listen to that's rotting your mind," Apollo quipped with a smile. "You better hurry and find the judge, its 30 minutes till 10." And with that Trucy sped off inside while Phoenix and Apollo strolled in to meet their client.

"One more question Apollo. Who are we going up against today?" Apollo stopped in his tracks at this question.

"Remember an old friend named Diego Armondo?" Phoenix was stunned by Apollo's rebuttal.

"You're kidding me. He wasn't supposed to be out for another 3 years! He told me so himself the last time I visited him in the Orange County prison…" said Nick as he started pacing on the steps of the courthouse.

"Well, I'm sure you will find out when we get inside. Come on, let's go." Apollo felt a cold chill run down the back of his neck as both of them stepped inside. Awaiting for the trial at hand.


	3. Chapter 2: Short Showdown

"What courtroom was it again?" Apollo asked, "It's so different now that they are done with the renovations and add-on of the family courtrooms."

"It says that we are in courtroom #5 on the 3rd floor…Maybe we should follow the signs," Nick pointed at the signs hanging above the staircase. "I'm also sure that Trucy didn't have this problem since she has more common sense about these things." Apollo and Nick put their heads down since both of them knew that it was true. As they approached the courtroom they could hear the judge clapping in amazement off in the distance and also Daniel Flintlock on the other side of the door just a nervous wreck talking to himself.

"Oh thank Christ you're here! I thought you would have been here earlier! Where in the Sam hell have you two been!?" shrieked Daniel. Daniel was caught in the crossfire of the whole mishap as he was found at the scene unconscious with the Colt .45 in his hand and no clue as to what happened. "I was going insane in here!"

"Hey!" shouted Apollo, "you better be careful saying something like 'insane' in a courthouse. The prosecution may get some funny ideas if they were listening in for some strange reason."

"_You're not kidding Apollo,_" thought Phoenix. Both of them have been around the block to know that anything can happen in this crazy courtroom. "_I know I've had my fair share of strange things like whip lashes and… damn, I have to watch out that he doesn't throw coffee at Apollo…or me."_

"Ok, I went over your case last night and can truthfully say that I can put my full trust in you," Apollo said with a stern voice, "Records show that you received a call from Marsellus' phone to come and meet you at the Lucky 13's Bar at 3:05 AM. When you got there, you had said that you were struck on the back of your neck; knocking you unconscious. Do you have the mark to prove it?"

Daniel nodded his head and turned around into the light and revealed a black and blue bruise at the base of his neck. Apollo and Nick winced when they seen it but noticed that at the base of Daniels neck shown what looked like the butt end of his Colt .45. Apollo took out the weapon in question and compared it side by side, "You see that Mr. Wright?"

"Yup, it's as clear as day," said Nick, "This end of the gun is matches with bruise dimensions on his neck."

"So does that mean I can go home now?!" Daniel exclaimed with exuberance.

"Not quite yet, we still have to prove that you're innocent in court," Nick said as he reached into his pocket. Nick then grabbed Apollo's wrist, "There is one more thing I need to ask… did you kill Marsellus Vincent?"

Puzzled, Daniel answered back with a resounding "No!" There was a silence for 10 seconds where Nick just stared at Daniel and Apollo looked on.

"Alright, we are ready. Let's go prove your innocence," smiled Nick. "_Sounds like this is going to be cake considering if Diego doesn't pull any moves that get us in trouble. If he does then we are in for a fight to the finish._"

"Mr. Justice? Mr. Wright? Time to get the show on the road," the bailiff calmly said. The men were escorted in and seated to the left of the judges' seat like always. A familiar feeling set in as both Apollo and Nick sat down but there was one thing missing…actually two things. One was at the Kurain Village fulfilling her duties as master and the other was MIA along with the judge. It was 15 minutes past 10 and Diego had already finished his 6th cup of Godot blend #403.

"…So… How is everyone?" Apollo spoke up, breaking the awkward silence in the room. Everyone chuckled except for Diego who was still messing with his cup of coffee.

"Was that your attempt at humor, injustice?" said a stern Diego, "Cause clearly I wasn't amused. Your humor is like Godot blend #152, bland and tasteless."

"OBJECTION!" blasted Apollo, there was a dead silence in the room until he spoke again, "isn't bland and tasteless the same thing?" Nothing was said. You could hear a pin drop in the room that is until…WHAP! Apollo was covered in Godot blend #403.

"Your aim is as good as ever Diego. Nice shot," smiled Phoenix. He looked at Apollo and can tell he didn't know what just happened due to utter shock of Diego throwing his coffee at him. "I should have warned you Apollo…He likes to throw his coffee if you insult him." Nick started laughing harder as did the spectators.

"You see that, injustice? Now that was funny," smirked Diego. Apollo started to get angry as he started wiping off the coffee from his face and attire. As everyone was laughing, the judge walked in along with Trucy and stared at Apollo in confusion.

"Um, excuse me. But what happened in here?" questioned the judge. "I was unavoidably detained and I come out here to see Mr. Justice covered in…coffee? Mr. Armondo! What have I told you about throwing your coffee in my courtroom!?"

"You never really said anything till now, your honor," Diego said, "In fact; I don't think you said anything about my coffee at all."

"Ah, you are correct. With that said, is the prosecution ready?"

"I've already put down 7 cups and wasted 1 on injustice over there. The prosecution has been ready, your honor," said Diego, pouring a 9th cup.

"Very well, is the defense team ready?" the judge said as he directed his attention to the defense bench. Apollo was still wiping off the coffee from his face and hair.

"A little messy, your honor, but we are ready," Nick glanced at Apollo while speaking to the judge.

The judge nodded and signaled to Diego to begin his opening statement. Diego sounded like he hadn't missed a beat when he spoke to the court and was thorough in his statement.

"Alright Mr. Armondo, you may call your first witness."

"I call Ms. Ema Skye to the stand," ordered Diego. Ema calmly raised from her seat in the spectators benches. She looked as pretty as ever as she walked toward the stand.

"Damn, Apollo. You look terrible," Ema chuckled. Apollo's face went red when she said that and brought up the memory that embarrassed him. He put his head down and ran a wet rag across his face.

"The victim in this case was located at the Lucky 13's bar at around midnight, just having drinks with some of his friends. When the defendant was called to the bar to give Mr. Vincent a ride he had shot the victim three times when he stepped out of the car. We at the police department believe that the Bartullos family had paid Mr. Flintlock to make the hit on Mr. Vincent since he owed the family a large debt," stated Ema with a strict voice.

"Thank you Ms. Skye," the judge nodded, "Mr. …Um, Wright. Since Mr. Justice is still cleaning himself up you may proceed with your cross examination."

"I am perfectly capable of doing the cross examination, your honor," Apollo replied with a sheepish look on his face.

"That's alright Polly, I got this," Nick said as he stuck his hand out toward Apollo. Nick went right for the jugular of Ema, putting the notion of an assassination out the window by presenting his bank account two days after the hit was made. He went on further to say that he was going to give Marcellus a ride but was knocked unconscious with his own Colt .45.

"My my, Mr. Wright. A strong defense you put up in front of Mr. Flintlock. What you are proposing is that someone of the Bartullos family performed the act themselves," spoke the judge in a calming voice.

"That is correct your honor," Nick said, "If it pleases the court, I would like to present evidence that the prosecution team missed."

"WHAT?!" exclaimed both Diego and Ema. "Wright, what evidence did we miss? All the evidence we collected points to Flintlock. His prints were found on his Colt .45 and fainted due to shock."

Nick looked to Daniel and asked him to stand up. "Mr. Flintlock, please show the court the back of your neck." He did just that and the crowd went into a ruckus. Ema and Diego couldn't believe it.

"Oh you have got to be joking," burned Diego, "Why didn't you tell us that you were hit when we interrogated you?"

"You didn't ask sir," Daniel said. Diego recalled that he and the rest of the investigation team didn't even bother with the question since there were so sure that they had him nailed.

"Well Mr. Armondo," Apollo said, "What next?"

"I'll tell you injustice," as another cup of Godot blend #403 slid into his hand and took a sip, "I'm going to leave this one to the jury and have another cup. Would you like one, Wright?"

"Later Diego, we'll have plenty of time for coffee when you tell me about how you were released with your badge," said Nick. Diego shook his head and smiled as he took another sip.

"May I please have a cup?" asked Apollo.

"I don't recall asking you if you wanted a cup, injustice," Diego sneered. Apollo stood there with his antennas drooping and gulping in his nervous state. "_Ok, thank god he didn't throw another cup of coffee at me again._"

"Alright, we shall take a break and let the jury deliberate," the judge banged his gavel as he dismissed the court. Diego walked out without speaking a word to Nick or Apollo as they walked behind him.

"Well, it looks like I owe you guys an apology," Ema said smiling at the two.

"For what? You didn't do anything wrong," responded Apollo.

"Well, I missed something that was as simple as just looking at his body at the scene of the crime," Ema frowned, "I at least owe you that."

"No worries, Ema. It's in the hand of the jury now," Apollo said and he kept picking out specs of coffee grounds out of his hair.

As they all exited to the lobby outside the courtroom, Apollo couldn't help but feel helpless as he did nothing to help in the case while Nick got all the credit. What's worse is that he was embarrassed again in front of Ema and a few more that were spectating on the benches of the courtroom. Nick, Apollo, Trucy and Ema were shooting the breeze and telling jokes until the jury was finally done deliberating; the bailiffs called all those involved back to the courtroom and the judge spoke the verdict: NOT GUILTY.


	4. Chapter 3: One of those Nights

It was getting late as Apollo, Trucy and Phoenix started walking to the car. Trucy was prancing along holding Nicks hand and not giving a care in the world about the weather outside. It was unusually cold out in Los Angeles and Apollo, along with Nick, had a bit of a shiver in their trench coats.

"You two have got to be the biggest pansies I've known," Trucy said in a sarcastic voice. Apollo turned and gave a short look but couldn't help but smirk a bit.

"Trucy, do you remember the time I told you about how I was hospitalized for falling into a cold river?" question Nick.

"Yes, Daddy. Like 15 thousand times."

"Then you should know by now that I am a warm blooded creature," smiled Nick as he pushed down on Trucy's top hat. Nick and Trucy were having a ball as Apollo looked on. "_I still can't believe how well she is doing without her dad. She looks as if nothing happened at all and could swear up and down that Nick was the true man that raised her,_" he smiled to himself.

"Alright you two, time to break it up," as Apollo started walking back to the two of them.

"Aww, but me and daddy were just having fun," Trucy said sarcastically. She punched her top hat back to normal as they all started back toward Apollo's car and used the remote starter to get everything up and running. They started back on their way when all of a sudden they had gotten a phone call from Apollo's phone and played the conversation through the car.

"Apollo Justice speaking," he said as there was a silence for about 5 seconds.

"Hello Mr. Injustice is Wright there with you?" asked a calm Diego. Apollo's face immediately frowned.

"Yes, I'm here Diego. You're on speaker with all of us," Nick said with a polite smile. "Why in such a hurry to get out of the courtroom after the trial? Too good to say a little hello?"

"HA! I don't need to explain myself to you. But on the contrary, would you all like to join me at the Vanguard bar? I would like to meet little Trucy in person since you talked about her so much while I was locked up," Diego said with a fascinated tone.

"That will be up to Apollo since he is the one driving us all right now," Nick looked over at Apollo. Apollo's frown faded. "_You know, a drink does sound good right now…_" Apollo thought as he started smirking.

"Yeah, we will be there. Are you already there?" Apollo gestured.

"I'm already five cups of coffee deep, injustice. What does that tell you?

"It says to me that you haven't even touched the liquor yet," Apollo smirked as everyone started to laugh. Even Diego got a small chuckle out of that.

"Says you. Come to the bar and you'll find out," Diego replied ever so calmly.

"Wait… There could be a problem," Nick said, "Trucy is still a teenager. She wouldn't be able to get into the bar." Trucy started frowning as the group all realized that fact.

"No worries Wright, they host concerts here frequently. They will mark her hands with two X's on her hands to not to serve her the good stuff," Diego smiled on the other end of the line. With the reassurance, Apollo ended the call and sped off to the Vanguard. Trucy was so excited as they drove along the coast with the sun setting; she never got to see her dad when he started drinking nor Apollo for that fact.

They finally pull up to the bar and the place was packed for a Wednesday night. On the posters outside, they had a happy hour for the coffee drinkers; $3 for Kailua's and Bailey's Irish Cream till 10 o'clock that night. "No wonder Diego wanted us to come here. He needs creamer for his coffee," laughed Nick. Apollo and Trucy looked at each other and smiled as they approached the front door where the bouncer was standing at the door.

"ID's please," he asked as the three of them pulled out their drivers licenses and showed them to the bouncer. He looked at them all and smiled as he recognized Apollo and Nick. "Alright gentlemen and lady, you're good to go in. Just need to see your hands Ms. Wright." Trucy took off her gloves, had her hands marked and everyone stepped inside. It was quite the scene for a Wednesday night as everyone was either getting drinks or on the dance floor. But in the corner of the bar they see a still fancy dressed Diego Armondo sipping on another cup of coffee. Nick pointed him out and all of them were seated around the table as Nick gave a warm greeting to Diego.

"Good to see you outside of the pen, Diego," Nick smiled as he looked over at Trucy and Apollo. "Diego, this is my little girl. Trucy, this is Diego; one of my long time friends since I became a lawyer."

"You look prettier than your pictures little kitten," Diego smiled as he shook her hand.

"Thank you Mr. Armando!" She said with a little red in her cheek.

"And as you somewhat met today, this is Apollo. Trucy's half brother," both men exchanged nods as the waitress came over to take an over to take drink orders.

"Can I get some grape juice, please?" Nick asked as he got an odd stare from both Apollo and Trucy. "What? I want some grape juice. Is that so wrong?" Nick started laughing as Apollo asked for a beer and Trucy a Coca-Cola. Nick and Diego started talking about old memories to Apollo and Trucy; both of them got a laugh when they found that Diego threw some coffee at Nick in his early days. As their drinks arrive to the table Nick grabs his wallet to pay for the drinks but the waitress said that it has already been paid for.

"Who paid for our drinks?" Nick said confused. The waitress pointed toward the bar and spotted a familiar face working behind the bar. Larry Butz gave the table a friendly smile and wave as he was making drinks for everyone. "Wonder how long he's been working here…" Diego said to Nick with a smile.

"Looks like he is doing good…very good actually," Nick said with wide eyes. Larry was bringing flash and flare as he made the drinks for the customers coming up to the bar area.

"Mr. Wright, didn't you say to me once that he couldn't keep a job to save his life? Apollo looked on as Larry was collecting tip after tip. Nick just hung his head and shook it as well.

"I guess he found his handle," Nick smiled. "Who knew it would be as a bartender in Los Angeles?"

"I would have bet my last cup of coffee that he wouldn't have ended up here," said Diego as he took off his face-mask for a brief moment.

As the evening wore on, more stories were exchanged and more memories shared; Nick and Diego told of the Fey clan that Trucy and Apollo wanted to know about for so long. Both were taken aback of what they heard while Trucy though that it was all complex magic that the Fey's performed. Nick went further on to explain that it was like how Apollo has the power to tell when people are lying by the tell tale sign they give off.

"Oh! Okay, I get it now!" Trucy laughed as did everyone else at the table. Apollo stood up from his seat and asked if anyone wanted another drink while he was away at the restroom. Diego wanted a shot of Baileys since it was still before 10 o'clock but Nick was starting to question whether Apollo would be good to drive everyone home. Apollo assured him if anything should happen that Nick could take his car back to the office and Apollo would call a cab; Nick agreed and Apollo went on his way toward the bar.

"Apollo, my boy! How ya doing!?" Larry exclaimed from behind the bar. Larry was on a partial break since everyone was out on the dance floor or at their table.

"I'm good Larry, I need another drink," Apollo said with another smile.

"Alright, what will it be?

"A Rattlesnake please; heavy on the Baileys. Plus another shot of Bailey's."

"You got it my friend," Larry said as he grabbed the Baileys, Kahlua and Godiva liqueur. But from behind Apollo, came a sweet yet silky voice: "Make that two Rattlesnakes, Larry." Larry looked up and said, "No problem miss Olivia."

Apollo turned his head slowly to find the same woman he had seen earlier in the day and still looked as beautiful as ever. She was standing in a faded light with her bleach blonde hair and a stunning black and red sun dress. She looked right at Apollo and he stared right back as she greeted him, "Hi there!" said Olivia with a friendly smile. He found himself just in awe of her presence and could not find the words to say back, not even a hello back.

"Um, are you okay?" Olivia chuckled at Apollo, snapping him out of his light trance.

"Uh… oh! I'm sorry for staring. Hello," Apollo stammered as he was collecting himself. Even still he couldn't find more words to speak back to Olivia.

"So, did you win your case?" Olivia asked in a sweet tone. Apollo looked puzzled at her.

"Excuse me?"

"Did you win your case?" she chuckled. "I was one of the jury sitting in watching the case unfold from my work this morning." Apollo remembered that the jury watches via video surveillance on all court proceedings.

"Um, yeah. Though I didn't do anything we still won," Apollo rubbed the back of his head and smiled a sheepish smile. "_Damn it, that means she seen Mr. Armondo throw his coffee at me_," thought Apollo.

"There you go guys. They're on the house," Larry said as he was preparing more drink orders. Olivia grabbed her drink as did Apollo while a waitress took the rest of the drinks to where Nick and the rest were sitting.

"Larry told me where to take them since he seen you were busy," smiled the waitress.

"Thank you ma'am," Apollo responded as he placed a healthy tip on her tray. She smiled bigger as she walked away and turned to Olivia and she was smiling a sweet smile toward his direction. "_Oh wow, even now as opposed to this morning she looks amazing."_

"Well then, here is to you and winning your case," Olivia raised her glass toward Apollo as he looked back at her.

"And here is to meeting a new and pretty face," Apollo tapped his glass against hers as they both threw back their drinks. Both of their faces winced at the strong taste of the drink; strong yet tastes like chocolate.

"Oh wow," Apollo showed his distain on his face. "How much Baileys did you put in there, Larry?

"What's wrong with a little extra 'venom' in the rattlesnake, Apollo?" Larry looked back at the both of them and smiled. Apollo cracked a smirk but shook his head as he turned back to face her only to find that she had gotten closer to him.

"So, I have a favor to ask of you Mr. Justice," Olivia said calmly.

"If it's about defending someone I am sorry. I'm not taking any more cases for a while," Apollo responded.

"No it's not that," she smiled, "I'm in a bit of a pickle right now. See, I came here with a friend who hasn't gotten out to live her social life in a long, long time. Only to be joined by some guy that has been following her ever since she got her job."

"Sounds like someone I know," laughed Apollo.

"Well, the thing is that I hate being the third wheel when this stuff happens. Plus, this is someone you know. Very well I might add." Apollo's eyes widened. "_You got to be kidding me. This is Ema's friend?!_"

"She wanted me to tell you 'sorry for earlier today'," Olivia laughed.

"Well, I guess it couldn't hurt to spend the rest of the evening with the two 'lovebirds' and someone new," smiled Apollo. Apollo laid his key's to his car on the bar and instructed Larry to tell Nick that he would be taking a cab back to his apartment. They both made their way through the crowd and dance floor to where Ema and Klavier were sitting down; though while walking through the bar Apollo caught himself looking Olivia up and down. He couldn't help himself but admire her physical qualities and how she looked so stunning when she walked in her sun dress.

As they drew closer to the table, Apollo gave only a smirk as Klavier was all over Ema and both were laughing as they were taking Jell-O shots. Klavier looked up to find Apollo in tote with Olivia and raised another shot.

"I'm surprised you lured him away from the family and the cyborg," barked Ema and the two of them broke into laughter. Apollo laughed to himself as to the state that the two were in; not even 10 o'clock and they're already gone out the window. He took a seat next to Ema and Olivia sat down next to him; Apollo leaned over to Olivia and asked "Who is driving?"

"According to Ema, I'm driving her car…now," Olivia said while rolling her eyes. Ema heard what she had said.

"Whoa there princess, now how many times have I drove you when you were as drunk a skunk?" Ema said with a smirk and slur in her voice. Olivia shook her head and smiled because she knew that with this they would be even.

"Alright then. I gotcha," she said as they did another shot. Klavier was motioning to Apollo to take a shot with them.

"Herr Forehead, care to take a fruit punch Jell-O shot with us?"

"I'm good Klavier, it so happens that I and Olivia had rattlesnake shots at the bar. They were also free," Apollo couldn't help but smile back at Klavier as to how wasted and how much of a free spirit he was outside of work; on the other side, Klavier was taken aback when Apollo said that he shared a shot with Olivia.

"Ah, very smooth there Herr Forehead," Klavier said with a wide eye smile.

"Cool your jets, Klavier. It was just a shot with someone new and one of Ema's friends," Apollo jested as he looked over Olivia's way. She was smiling as she looked out onto the dance floor and seen everyone dancing to the music that was blasting through the speakers of the bar.

"Hey, Olivia. Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Ema said as Olivia spun her head around and gave a smirk.

"I've got just the thing. We're gonna go back a ways. Hold that thought," she said as she ran off to the DJ booth. She was going to put on a song that would for sure make everyone dance, especially Ema. "_Wonder what she has in mind…even then I can't dance very well_," thought Apollo. When the song came on the DJ's voice was loud and clear: "Alright my people of the Vanguard! We're going back in time and we want everyone, especially the ladies, to get on the dance floor and Wobble baby!"

"Oh my God! Klavier, get out of my way!" Ema said as she pushed Klavier aside and left both guys dumbstruck. "_What in the Sam hell is this_?" Apollo thought. Olivia came rushing back to the table and took Apollo by the hand and drug him out onto the dance floor, leaving Klavier at the table by himself. "Klavier, don't just sit there you fop! Get out here and shake what your momma gave you!" Ema called back to the table as he reluctantly got up from the table. Apollo was getting nervous as he got to the dance floor.

"I don't know this song and I can't dance!" he said to Olivia over the crowd.

"It's okay! Just watch, you can learn this quickly!" she said back as the first verse came on and everybody broke into the line dance. Apollo watched as Olivia and Ema started moving their bodies to the music and started to catch on just a little bit. He was more focused on Olivia than Ema since she was moving just a little bit more than Ema. "_Ha! Ema looks as stale as me when I dance like that_," Apollo jokingly thought to himself. As the song kept going, Apollo found himself tapping his foot along with the song and his body trying to match the moves that everyone else was doing. On the final break in the song, he jumped in the middle of Ema and Olivia and starting doing the same dance; which in turn caused Ema to shout in surprise when Apollo started to move his hips to the beat of the thundering bass.

When it was all over, Apollo was winded out of breath and worked up a small sweat. They all were laughing and carrying on until Copperhead Road came over the speakers and made Apollo freeze and turn around to see a small group form two lines.

"Go and get it, Apollo!" shouted Ema as she pushed him into the front of the line. Slightly nervous, Apollo started doing calf raises with the rest of the people to the beat. When the first verse hit, Apollo starting kicking his feet as if he was in an Irish jig group and felt free for the first time in a long time (then again, it could be just the alcohol taking its course). Whatever it may be, he kept going even into the change in his step and he started high stepping and sent the crowd into a buzz, including Ema and Olivia. The song ended and Apollo was all alone in the middle and got a small applause from the crowd. Apollo smiled a tired smile as he made his way back to the table with Ema and Olivia; Klavier just shook his head and laughed as he was waiting just outside the dance floor.

"I didn't know you had it in you, Herr Justice," Klavier jested.

"Man, I'm a little bit thirsty after that one," Apollo joked in return and right one cue the waitress walked up with a beer for Apollo.

"Compliments of that table over there," the waitress pointed to the table that Nick, Diego and Trucy were sitting at and they all started laughing like crazy. "_I don't know what they're laughing at. I just danced and they gave me a beer. Oh well, free beer!_" Apollo exclaimed with joy in his head.

"Don't mind them Apollo. You were awesome out there," Olivia stated as he took a drink of his beer. He smiled and looked back at Klavier.

"Where were you? You didn't even attempt to try and dance with Ema. I was very surprised at you Klavier," Apollo got a laugh out of Ema and Olivia.

"Ach! It's not my thing to dance, Herr Forehead. I'd rather play music rather than dance," Klavier replied coolly. The rest of the night played on with more Jell-O shots around the table before all of them got up and went to the dance floor. Apollo went with Olivia while Klavier had Ema to another part of the dance floor where the DJ was mixing up songs to get the crowd jumping and dancing. Apollo was feeling pretty good after the shots and three more beers to where he was going pretty well on the dance floor. At one point, Apollo looked up from dancing with Olivia to find Ema practically getting it on with Klavier; and somehow Apollo got an empty feeling from watching this take place. He had a shot with her and he knew that he blew the only shot that he had and now he has to watch as Klavier takes over.

"Hey, what's wrong Apollo?" Olivia asked in that sweet voice. Apollo sighed.

"I'm alright. Just kind of tired," he lied with a half-hearted smile as his bracelet tightened a bit.

"Oh. Alright then, want to split a cab home?" asked Olivia again. This time Apollo smiled because he knew he couldn't say no to her.

"I'd like that," he said as they both made their way over to Ema and Klavier. They told them both that they were going to head on home since both of them were really tired. They all exchanged goodbyes then Apollo and Olivia made their way to the front door where a few cabs were waiting for anyone.

"Where to, guys?" the driver asked.

"Santa Anna Apartment Complex please," Apollo said. He looked over to Olivia when she spoke up.

"Glasstown Penthouses for me," she said looking at Apollo. He couldn't believe that was only 3 block away from where she live.

"You're kidding me right? I only live about a few blocks away from you," Apollo said.

"I used to live in the Santa Anna Complex until I found a great spot for cheap," she said with a smirk on her face.

"Well, lucky you. I went there when I was hunting for an apartment but their rates were ridiculous. Even for a fresh out of Ivy College lawyer," Apollo said with a sense of disbelief.

The night ended with the both of them close to each other with Olivia's head on Apollo's shoulder and his head practically resting on top of hers without a single care. The cab driver kept looking back at the two and chuckled to himself: "Man, he has no idea what's going on." They rolled up on to Apollo's complex and the driver told him the fare would be $17.78. He gladly paid the driver and gave him a $5 tip and the two of them got out of the cab.

"Excuse me miss, you don't want your ride to Glasstown?"

"No, I think I'll walk. Thank you though," she said with a courteous smile. The driver smiled back and away he went to his next fair. Apollo then walked with her to her penthouse exchanging funny stories and of past memories of relationships. When they finally came to the front of Glasstown, Apollo didn't really want the night to end since it went so well.

"Well, this is my stop," she said as she shrugged her shoulder. Apollo nodded his head as he let out a sigh and started rocking back and forth on his shoes. "I had a great time tonight Apollo. Thank you."

"No problem, Olivia. Couldn't just leave you there as the 3rd wheel," Apollo said and the two of them laughed for a few seconds. Apollo turned and walked away but—

"Hey!" Olivia called out for Apollo.

"Yes?"

"Umm, here is my number. Shoot me a text or call sometime and we can meet up," she smiled as she handed him what looked like a business card.

"I'll keep that in mind, Olivia," Apollo smiled. The two embraced for a hug and then, without warning, Olivia gave him a peck on the cheek. Apollo just stood there, not really sure what happened as she turned around and walked inside. He turned a flush red as he walked on back to his apartment to find Drake waiting patiently for him. Apollo let him out and the both of them climbed back into bed.

**Hey guys, Sorry for the delay on this chapter. School and the NCAA tournament made me stop writing for a while. This one goes a bit more in depth than the last few. Hope you guys who are following the story enjoy it.**

**Signed,**

**GGG (AKA, Frank)**

**PS: I love my Championship school. ;)**


	5. Chapter 4: How Did That Happen?

The night seemed to fly by as Apollo woke up from his deep sleep; Drake was scratching at the door to let Apollo know that he had to go outside.

"Really Drake? This early in the morning?" Apollo questioned with a groggy tone in his voice. He rolled out of bed with a little bit of dry mouth from all the alcohol consumed the past night. As he let Drake out the back door, Apollo couldn't shake the thought of last night and what happened with Olivia. It's all that he could think about; on top of it all, he got her number without even asking for it. He looked over onto his bedside table and picked up the card Olivia gave him last night, "_I must have done something right last night to get this. I'm surprised she even let me get that close to her last night while we were dancing_," Apollo thought to himself as he was reaching into his cabinet to make a pot of coffee while he ate his banana to cure his mild hangover. He kept thinking about it as he was watching the morning news going around Los Angeles; homicide after homicide was shown but all he could see in his mind was Olivia and how spectacular she looked. Apollo went to the back door to let Drake back inside and Drake immediately laid on his back at Apollo's feet.

"You want some attention. Don't ya?" Apollo smirked as he began to rub his belly. That's when a phone call broke through the air of his apartment from the Wright and Co. office.

"Good morning Mr. Wright," he said with a smile across his face.

"Good to know that you're still alive after all that you did last night, Apollo," the two men exchanged laughs while Trucy broke in on the conversation on another line.

"So what happened with you and that girl last night, Polly?!" Trucy was absolutely beside herself and just couldn't bear the thought of her (half) brother going out with someone without her consent.

"Now that's none of your business," Apollo said as his palm laid over his eyes and forehead knowing that she just couldn't leave well enough alone.

"Actually, I want to know as well Apollo. I also want to know if you're going to come and pick up your car at some point today and get some work done at the office. Or are you too hung over?" Nick said with a wide smile knowing that it was starting to get to Apollo.

"Okay, I'll explain myself as soon as I get over to the office. But what work needs to be done at the office today? We aren't taking any clients for the next two weeks," Apollo asked with a confused look on his face.

"Daddy says you need to clean the toilets this month," laughed Trucy. Apollo's mood finally got the better of him.

"How did I fucking know?"

"Polly!"

"Apollo, what did I tell you about cussing around Trucy?" Nick said in a calming voice; inside Nick's mind he was dying of laughter.

"My bad, Trucy. But it's not like she hasn't said it herself behind your back Mr. Wright," Apollo sneered. Nick looked over in Trucy's direction as her face was beat red with embarrassment.

"What? When something goes wrong in the show, what do you think I say or do?" Trucy questioned.

"I'll deal with that later. Anyway, come on down here pronto and we can tackle the house work around the office," Nick said as he focused back on the conversation.

"Alright, just let me clean myself up and finish my cup of coffee," Apollo said as he scratched behind Drakes ear.

"Are you turning into Mr. Armondo, Apollo?" Trucy asked with a funny look on her face.

"….Not now Trucy. I'll see you guys in a little bit," Apollo said as he hung up his cell phone. He sat it down on the table in front of him and picked up his coffee mug; as he took his last drink he headed down to his bathroom to freshen himself up. He put on his normal street clothes and a baseball hat, making his antennas stick out both sides of his hat making him look like a little demon. As he was walking out the door he quickly turned back because he had forgotten his wallet and phone. "_Jeez, if I'm forgetting these things already this is going to be long walk to the office_," thought Apollo. Apollo stepped outside is door and locked it behind him only to find Ema outside waiting for him.

"Hey! You took my driver last night you dick!" Ema yelled from across the street. Apollo could only smile as he made his way to the other side where she was leaning up against her Prius.

"I assume you made it home last night?" Apollo smirked as Ema smirked right back.

"I guess you could say that. No help from the fop though. He was totally trashed by the end of the night," Ema complained.

"Well, I'd say you brought that on yourself for getting drunk with him. You were just as trashed as he was. How's your head feeling?

"Fantastic, actually! Yours?"

"Mild headache but I already had a banana and cup of coffee. So I should be good enough," Apollo said as both of them got into the vehicle and drove to the Wright and Co. offices.

Taking back roads to avoid traffic on the highway, the pair kept silent for a good portion of the car ride. Apollo had nodded off a few times before Ema gave him a wake up with a brake check, giving Apollo some kind of whiplash. On the fourth time, he looked over and Ema was giving a smirk as she kept her attention to the road.

"Are you enjoying what you're doing, Ema?" Apollo asked with the same groggy voice from earlier.

"Yes, actually. I told you, you took my driver last night and now you're paying for it right now," Ema said with a bubbly tone. Apollo couldn't help but crack a smile; he started to put his head back down but pulled himself back up because he thought that one of these times he is going to smack his head on her dashboard. "And now you're learning. Good job, Apollo," Ema said as they both laughed together; Ema pulled off into the gas station just a few blocks from the office to fill up and get a bottle of tea. She asked if Apollo wanted anything from inside but he just shook his head as he started to nod off again. Ema shook her head as she went inside to pay for her stuff; Apollo drifted off again and fell asleep after only a few seconds.

In a short daydream it seemed, the image of Olivia showed up in front of him as if they were back at the Vanguard. She was dancing like a woman possessed as the sound of Def Leppard was playing in the background of the scene. Olivia started dancing around him as if to entice him but a loud honk of a car horn and headlights burst into view and hit Olivia.

Apollo woke with Ema laughing to the point where she nearly wet her pants. He just woke up with a surprised face and a slight cold sweat rolling off his face.

"Oh my gosh, your face was so priceless. You should have seen it!" Ema said as she kept on laughing till she became short of breath. Apollo wiped off the sweat and rubbed his eyes one last time, sat up in his seat and buckled up for the short trip to the office.

"You're a jerk… you know that right?" Apollo said as he looked in her direction. Ema just smiled and gave him a nod as she made her turn onto the road. Apollo thought it best to just stay awake so that no more of this stuff would happen till he got to the office where he could possibly get some sleep.

As they rolled up to the office, Ema parked opposite to Apollo's Charger and looked over at the office where Trucy was taking out the trash. Trucy looked up from doing so and seen the pair get out of the car and couldn't contain her excitement when she seen the two of them.

"Hey guys!" Trucy said as she gave Ema a hug first and then Apollo.

"Hey Truce, where is your dad at?" Ema said as she greeted her with a smile.

"He's inside sweeping up the floors and cleaning the file cabinet… or at least he was before he found some of the old cases that his old boss worked and some of his own," Trucy said as she rolled her eyes. "I swear he gets easily distracted whenever he does house work around the office." Apollo shook his head as he started walking inside with Trucy and Ema in tote. The troupe looked around and seen a nice, clean front office with the reception desk as clean as a whistle. Nick was seen putting back a file from his younger days which read: _RS-48, State of California vs. Iris Hawthorne._ Everyone who's anyone knows about that topsy-turvy case that essentially made the name Phoenix Wright a legend in the city of Los Angeles and in college textbooks around the country.

"There we go. Dusted off, organized in the right order… Whoops," Nick said as he looked at one binder that was out of place. He grabbed the binder from the shelf and stashed in on the lowest shelf; Nick took a step back and marveled at what he accomplished in just an hour's time… or so he thought.

"Should we come back at another time Mr. Wright?" Apollo asked as Nick spun around real quick when he didn't realize anyone was behind him.

"What took you so long, Apollo?" Nick questioned while trying to take the awkward moment off his shoulders.

"It's not my fault that Ema's car is running on 4 hamsters and can only go 30 miles an hour. You're actually lucky, I was going to take a bus over here," Apollo looked over Ema's direction as she gave him a funny look.

"Ha! Ha! Very funny, Apollo… Its' ok, Mr. Wright. I got him while he was sleeping in my car. I gave him a rude awakening," Ema said with a polite smile which in turn made Nick smile even bigger. Apollo didn't really find much humor in it since he seen a gruesome image that he can't forget about; much less if he told Ema about what he seen.

"So… About this girl last night. What happened there, Apollo?" Nick asked and all of a sudden all eyes in the room were on him. Ema's eyes lit up at the mention of what happened last night with him and Olivia.

"Yeah. Olivia told me some things this morning, Apollo," smirked Ema.

"Her name is Olivia, huh?" Trucy said with a wink and smile. Apollo is turning flush red at this point and could not hold back a smile.

"Come on guys, it's nothing. Really. All that happened is that I danced with her after you two and Mr. Armondo left; then we left Ema and Klavier together at the bar and forgot that she was supposed to drive Ema home; finally, I walked her back to her apartment when we were dropped at my complex," Apollo explained.

"You left out the part where she gave you her number and kissed your cheek," Ema jested. Trucy screamed with excitement while Nick's eyes widened to the size of saucers; Apollo, however, played it off like it wasn't anything while smiling like an idiot.

"Ah ha, so the plot thickens here," Nick said. "Well, I guess you showed her that chivalry still exists. Good job!"

"Thanks. But I'd say it's too soon for a victory dance. To be honest, I just couldn't let her be a third wheel and be stuck with Klavier Gavin all night," mocked Apollo.

"But it's okay for me to be stuck with him?" Ema shot back at Apollo.

"Everything is okay to you when you're as plastered as you were. I'm sure that Olivia would agree with me on that," laughed Apollo. Nick and Trucy started in too because they know how she gets with a little too much liquor in her system. Such was the case during a Christmas party last year when she thought she could sled down a flight of stairs outside of her apartment; her famous last words that night: "hold my drink and watch this!"

"Alright! Alright!" Ema said as she threw her hands up, knowing that she had been had by Apollo. "Maybe last night was a bad idea…at least from my standpoint."

"Well, now that it's all over…" Nick was reaching back behind him to pick up some cleaning supplies, "time to make those toilets shine Apollo." Apollo looked down at the bucket filled with everything he needed to clean the bathrooms and his smile immediately faded. "And when you're finished, you can have your keys back," Nick said as he turned back to his filing cabinet.

Ema and Trucy went off to Trucy's room where Trucy needed another audience member to show her new trick to besides the judge. Apollo slipped on the rubber gloves and slowly walked to the first bathroom to clean it up. As he was scrubbing, the thought of the daydream came to mind; Apollo was scared awake due to the "harm" to Olivia and how contorted she looked from it after. "_Ugh, that was scary to say the least. But thank God that it was only a dream,_" Apollo thought after he cleaned the first bathroom and moved on to the next.

Eventually, Apollo finished up the last bathroom and had time to catch lunch with everyone in the office. Nick had some pizza delivered to the office; one large supreme pizza with anchovies and one medium meats. Apollo winced at the site of the anchovies while the rest of the group was all over that one pizza.

"How can you guys eat that crap? It's a tiny fish with hair on a pizza" Apollo said as he opened the second pizza.

"Don't complain, Apollo. I knew you wouldn't eat it so I got you your own pizza," Nick said as he poured a glass of grape juice. Apollo shrugged his shoulder and took a bite of his pizza. Everyone was particularly quiet around the table after they all had their stuff done and out of the way; maybe it was because everyone was worn out some by all that was done. For what it was worth, nothing more was left to say since Apollo spilled the beans about his escapades with Olivia the night before and Trucy got her wish of showing off her new trick.

Everyone was finished eating as Apollo took all the plates from the table and put them in the sink for Trucy to do later on. He looked over on the counter and seen the keys to his car sitting next to the bottles of unopened grape juice. Without haste, Apollo grabbed his keys, put them in his pocket and headed to the table to say his goodbyes.

"Well, I should be getting home. It will be nice to just relax these next few days without any cases to worry about," Apollo said with a slight smile.

"Must be nice," Ema rolled her eyes as she dreaded when she had to go in later that night and basically work a whole day tomorrow.

"While you're at it Apollo, you can get to know Ema's friend a little more as well," Nick said with Trucy smiling from ear to ear. Ema perked her head up and saw Apollo's face turn red again; she gave a glare in his direction as Apollo looked over at Ema.

"You better watch yourself, Apollo. If anything happens to my best friend, it will be your head on my desk as a hood ornament," jeered Ema. Apollo knew she wasn't playing around but he did know that she meant a lot to Ema; that's when Apollo let out a loud gulp as some kind of nervousness sank in.

"Absolutely not. You know me better than that Ema," Apollo said with a smile of assurance. Ema, still somewhat skeptical, gave him the nod. Apollo gave Trucy and Ema a hug goodbye, shook Nick's hand and walked out the door.

Apollo fumbled with his keys as he made his way to the driver side door of his car, just thinking of what he is going to do with his time off. The definite thoughts of Olivia came to mind as well as going to the beach at some point in the week; maybe go camping at Yosemite National Park and go for a hike. His possibilities were endless but every thought of something to do always lead back to hanging out with Olivia. "_Hmm, maybe Mr. Wright is right. She might be something different I could get used to_," he thought as he stepped into his car.

He seen that he had a few missed called that were dialed to his car and he wasn't there for. Apollo checked the time and date on the calls and all of the calls from Mr. Armondo, Ema and Klavier were from last night. A confused face shown on Apollo because he didn't expect a call from Diego; he would expect a call from Ema since she has the tendency to send out drunken calls to some of her close friends. Apollo let out a laugh when he heard the message that Ema left on his voicemail; she was slurring her words while he heard Klavier in the background singing his songs and apparently playing air guitar as described by Ema.

Apollo started driving back to his apartment and gave Diego a call back to see what he called for. He had a somewhat nervous feeling as the phone rang for about 30 seconds before the call was received by Diego.

"Diego Armondo speaking, how may I help you?" Diego said in a calming voice.

"Hello Mr. Armondo, this is Apollo Justice," Apollo replied back with the same manner.

"Ah, so you are alive after last night's venture with that kitten you were with," Diego retorted back.

"I hope I'm not bothering you Mr. Armondo. You called my phone last night when Mr. Wright had taken my car back home with Trucy…wait did you say the 'kitten' I was with last night?" Apollo had just realized what Diego had said.

"Please, Injustice. Call me Diego; I'm not that too far over the hill to be called Mr. Armondo by the people I know outside of my office. And yes, kittens like her are hard to come by," Diego said as he took a sip from his mug. Apollo frowned at the name 'injustice' as it was the same case when Nick was a lawyer. There was a long pause before Apollo spoke again.

"I'll make you a deal. I'll stop calling you Mr. Armondo if you stop calling me 'Injustice' because, unlike Mr. Wright, I don't feel like putting up with another joke about my name. Fair enough?" Apollo jested.

"Ha! That's quite the deal but you would be taking the fun out of my profession and furthermore you haven't earned my respect like Wright did… But I will admit, you have a lot more fire in you to say that to me when Wright didn't," smirked Diego.

"Does that mean we have a deal then?" Apollo asked with some sort of confidence.

"I'll ease off a bit. How does that sound?"

"Sounds like I made quicker progress that Mr. Wright," Apollo said as another smile came across Diego's face.

"So, back to the reason why I called. As soon as I hung up my phone I had realized that Wright had your car and felt like that bumbling idiot Winston Payne," Diego took another drink from his mug.

"Were you slightly intoxicated when you made that call? Because you had quite a bit to drink last night in your coffee," Apollo said as he crossed by the gas station.

"Define slightly. I woke up this morning not knowing how I got home afterwards," joked Diego. Apollo laughed along with him and spoke again.

"Think of it this way Diego…you lived to see another day and don't question how you got home; just know that you made it there," Apollo was quick to say.

"Point proven," Diego nodded on his phone. "So, how did you make out with that kitten last night?"

"Well, we took a cab home and then realized she lived a few blocks away in another apartment complex. I walked her home and got to know her a bit, she then proceeded to give me her number and kiss me on my cheek," Apollo said as he gave the short version of his night. Diego shook his head.

"I guess chivalry isn't dead after all," he said as he poured another cup of coffee. "In any case, I have some pressing matters to attend to so if you excuse me…I have to go make a new pot of coffee and follow up with the judge. Good day Apollo."

"Alright Diego, I'll catch up with you later," Apollo said as he hung up his phone.

Apollo rolled up to is parking spot at his complex, backed his car in and got out to walk to his door. As he got closer to his door, there was a note taped on the door addressed to him with delicate handwriting.

Apollo…

I just wanted to thank you again for last night. I was passing by

your apartment to get to my way to work and go to work and couldn't

help but stop by but you weren't home. Hope you have a great day!

-Olivia

Apollo's heart jumped when he read the note; she came back, out of her way for that matter, to just give thanks for something nice he did just so she wouldn't have to be in an awkward spot. On top of it all, gave her number and kissed Apollo's cheek when he walked her home. With his mind going in several different directions at once, Apollo pulled out his wallet where he had put the card that Olivia had given him. He took a look as to where she worked and it turns out that Olivia works for the county clerks' offices in Orange County. "_Hmm, that is interesting. It won't be hard to find her,_" Apollo thought as he turned about and went back to his car.

Apollo turned over the engine in his car and began to make his way back to the county clerk's office. He dialed the number of the office and it began to ring; a voice came on the phone greeting Apollo.

"Orange County Clerk's office, how may I assist you today?"

"Hello, I am looking to speak with miss…" Apollo paused as he looked at her business card, "Olivia Roher."

"Alright… Miss Roher is on her lunch break right now. Would you like me to leave a message for you?"

"Do you by chance know where she went for lunch?" Apollo asked.

"I'm sorry sir, I cannot disclose that kind of information," said the tenant at the office.

"Ah right. I should have known with me being a DA. My apologies," Apollo replied with a cool tone.

"Are you by chance Apollo Justice?" quizzed the tenant. Apollo couldn't believe his ears when he was asked that question.

"Uh… yes, why do you ask?"

"Olivia said that she might be expecting a DA to call, I didn't know it would be you Mr. Justice," the tenant said. "Hold please as I transfer your call." Apollo listened to the automatic message the county office had replaying over and over again as he patiently waited for Olivia to pick up her phone. The message was cut off with the ringing of a phone;

"Good afternoon, this is Olivia Roher. To whom am I speaking with today?" she said in a sweet voice that was soft and soothing.

"Hey, it's Apollo," he said as a smile came across his face.

"Oh hi! I didn't expect to hear from you so soon. Ema said it's not usually your style to do this," Olivia replied back. Apollo's smile quickly faded and his thoughts went to Ema. "_Ema is selling me out?_" thought Apollo as he turned his focus back to the conversation at hand.

"Oh, I see. Well, I guess I'm going to have a talk with Ema later," Apollo said in response. Olivia got a rise out of what he said and spoke again.

"So anyway, I trust that you got my note?" she asked with a polite voice.

"Yes I did. You really didn't have to do that but I appreciated it all the same," Apollo said as the smile came back again.

"I'm glad you liked it. So, I'm about to go on my lunch break. Have any plans right now?" Olivia asked with that same bubbly tone from last night.

"I am currently on my way to the clerk's office right now to come and say thanks for the note in person. But what did you have in mind?" Apollo played it cool. It brought a slight smile to Olivia's face as she spoke again.

"Well, how about we meet at the Tera Verde Bar and Grill? I feel like I owe you one for last night," the two of them laughed a little.

"You don't owe me anything. But I guess it could do no harm to share lunch," Apollo said as he started punching in the address to Tera Verde on his center console.

"Sounds good to me, I'm locking up and clocking out now. I should be there in about 10 to 20 minutes," Olivia replied. Apollo looked at the estimated time till his arrival and it was almost the same time.

"Prefect. Hopefully I don't get stuck in traffic because I should be there the same time you do," he said as he stopped at a red light. Olivia locked the door to her office and grabbed her keys out of her purse.

"Alright then Mr. Justice. I will see you shortly then," Olivia said. Apollo hung up his phone and waited on the red light to change to green. As the light changed, his navigation sounded off his next turn and started to switch back to his music. Apollo started to get nervous as he got closer to his destination and started to psych himself out; "_Man, I hope that this doesn't go like how it did with Ema… Damn it Apollo! Stop thinking of that; it's going to be different, just be cool and for the love of God, no chords of steel_," he thought.

Apollo rolled into a parking spot, waiting for any sign that Olivia had arrived before him. He looked around for about five minutes before he had the idea to call her and ask where she is. Apollo put his phone up to his ear when Olivia pulled in right next to him; he immediately put his phone down as Olivia smiled and laughed at his sudden surprise. Apollo's face turned a flush red as he put his phone into his pocket, turned off his car and got out to greet Olivia with a hug.

"Did I surprise you there, Apollo?" she asked with a teasing tone.

"Slightly. You just snuck up on me is all," Apollo retorted with a smile. "_You idiot, that's the same thing as a surprise_!" he thought. The two walked inside to find it to be a bit crowded for it being in the middle of the day. The hostess seated them with no trouble at all; as they were seated, Apollo took off his hat for a few seconds to run his fingers through his hair to try and fix it and put it back on. Olivia couldn't help but smile as he did this because his antennas would keep coming back up to be only pushed down again by his hat.

"What's so funny, Olivia?" Apollo asked as he turned his hat backwards to have his antennas stick out the back opening.

"Oh, nothing. I just find it funny that your hair won't cooperate with you," she said with a chuckle.

"It's been that way ever since I've had hair. These two strands of hair never like to stay down so I got used to it," Apollo said as he opened his menu. Olivia looked into her menu as well as the server came over to take their order.

"Hey guys, sorry for the crowd in here today. A party came in here for a soccer match that's going on. Is this going to be on the same check or separate?" he asked. Olivia was about to speak but Apollo got to it before she could.

"Same check, sir," Apollo said with a cool reply and Olivia looked over and smiled.

"Alright, what can I get for you two?"

"I'll have an un-sweet tea with a slice of lemon," Apollo said.

"I'll have a strawberry daiquiri," Olivia spoke in return. It made Apollo look her way when she said what she did. The server left to take care of the other orders around the bar.

"I'm surprised that you want alcohol after how much we had last night," Apollo said jokingly.

"Well, it's one of my many talents. I've never really had a hangover," Olivia said she started looking back at her menu as to what she wanted to get. Apollo started to do the same thing but couldn't help but sneak a peek over his menu at her eyes going back and forth over the menu. Olivia caught his wandering eye and Apollo looked back down at his menu; on the other side Olivia was smiling from ear to ear. The waiter came back, took their order and went on his way to the back where the cooks could make their food.

The two of them exchanged pleasantries as they waited patiently for their food to come back. They even watched some of the soccer match on the TV and laughed at the crowd that was cheering on the teams.

"Why do they get so mad about an offside call?" Olivia asked as she was catching her breath from laughing.

"Supposedly, it's a stupid rule to some soccer fans. I never really cared for the sport to be honest," Apollo replied. Olivia nodded, took a sip of her drink, and spoke again.

"So, apart from last night and what I know from Ema, who are you Apollo Justice?" she asked with a polite tone.

"There's not a whole lot to me, to be honest; just your average orphan who wanted a better life for himself. I wanted to be a judge at first but I decided on being a defense attorney after I watched the trial of Iris Hawthorne where Mr. Wright was the DA on that case," Apollo said as he grabbed his glass of tea and took a drink.

"I remember that case. It was all over the media when I was younger; it was such an odd case with the inclusion of the Fey family and their "Kurain Channeling Technique" that was subject to skepticism," Olivia replied.

"I can tell you first hand, my skepticism is gone after from what I seen Mr. Wrights assistant do. She is the master of the Kurain Technique and I was in awe of what she did," Apollo said as he made a face of surprise.

"Really? What did she do? Who did she call back from the dead?" Olivia asked with some excitement.

"She called back her sister and Mr. Wrights mentor Mia Fey who had been killed while Mr. Wright was working for her," Apollo said. Olivia's eyes were beaming as Apollo recalled some of the other stories that Nick had told him about the Fey clan and the cases that followed the family. Time had seemed to fly by as Apollo told Olivia everything there was to know while their orders had finally gotten to their table. Olivia unfolded her napkin, rested her silverware on her plate and placed the napkin in her lap while Apollo only unraveled his silverware and started in on his boneless buffalo wings.

"So, since you asked about me, who are you Olivia Roher?" Apollo asked as he took a bite.

"Well, there isn't a lot to me at all. I'm just your kid that moved from state to state with her family due to the downturn in the economy. I lived in Michigan for the longest time before I graduated and moved out her to L.A. to have a top flight education in Justice Administration," she said as she took a bite of her salad. "When I moved out here was a few years after I heard about Nick's disbarment."

"Ah, I see. Which states have you lived in? I've never been outside of California," Apollo said while he reached for his glass again.

"I mainly lived in the eastern states. The farthest west I've been before I came here was Missouri. My dad would take me to any blues and BBQ festival they had going on in the state," Olivia explained, "and they ALWAYS had the best BBQ in St. Louis."

"I would expect as much since most BBQ places will tell you if they're serving St. Louis style ribs or any other BBQ," retorted Apollo. A smirk came across Olivia's face at the sound of his joke and pushed his shoulder. Apollo chuckled as Olivia called him a jerk and took another bite of her salad. "So besides coming here for education, what else made you come to Los Angeles?"

"Well, it was Ema that convinced me," she said softly.

"Huh? When did you meet Ema?

"It was on a trip I had taken when I was in high school to Europe. I ran into her by chance while we had some down time and she had told me what she was doing in Europe and I had told her that I wanted to get my degree in Justice Administration," Olivia explained.

"Oh I get it. So you both kept in close contact since then. Now I see," Apollo said. The two of them had barely touched their food as Olivia told of how she and Ema came to be best friends. It was an intellectual bond that Mia Fey and Lana Skye had for each other, the only difference was their professions did work outside of the courtroom both before (Ema) and after (Olivia). She revealed to Apollo that she has a double major in Justice Administration and Psychology which would explain why she is part of criminal affairs and makes frequent visits to the Orange County prison to talk with inmates.

The waiter brought the check to the table in mid conversation of the two and a sudden stop came between them. Both of them looked at the ticket before they reached for it at the same time and their hands met; Apollo's hand on the bottom and Olivia's on top. They looked at each other for a little while it seemed that their hands were stuck together in that very moment. Olivia's face turned red as she looked down at her hand resting upon Apollo's before she tried to get to the ticket from under his hand; which in turn Apollo quickly grabbed her hand lightly when she did.

"Uh uh uh," Apollo said, "I've got it." He smiled and so did Olivia; she nodded as Apollo let her hand go and her face was still plush red. Apollo set down his debit card without even looking at how much the meals were and they continued their conversation until the waiter came back with Apollo's card and boxes for the both of them. The two had to exit through the crowd of raging soccer fans to get to the front door where the hostess told them to have a nice day.

"Thanks for lunch, Apollo. I really did enjoy myself and the conversation we had," Olivia said as she turned to face Apollo in the parking lot.

"It's no problem at all. I enjoyed talking with you and sharing a bite to eat. Even if I looked a bit rough around the edges today," smiled Apollo.

"Yeah, next time I see you I hope that you clean yourself up a bit," Olivia laughed as did Apollo.

"Oh? So you got jokes now?" he said it retort.

"Oh yes. The joke here is your antennas or forehead. Take your pick, Herr Forehead," mocked Olivia.

"You've been around Klavier too much. That one hurts," joked Apollo.

"Well, I better get back to the office. I still have two appointments to keep with this afternoon with a divorced couple and some people from the CPA," she said with some distain. "I never like it when the CPA comes to my office. I always become sad with what they tell me and who I might be seeing in my office."

"Yeah, I remember doing the same thing; going to a one on one therapy session since I was a ward of the state. But think of it this way, get through these meetings and you'll be home free before you know it," Apollo said with some confidence. A smile came across Olivia's face again.

"Thanks, Apollo. You're so sweet," she said as she leaned into his cheek, kissed him and hugged him again. Apollo wrapped his arms around her and was shocked yet again. As they released, Apollo just stood there speechless for a moment as she turned to walk to her car.

"Hey, Olivia?" Apollo called out.

"Yes?" she turned with a smile.

"Is this becoming a common thing for you to kiss my cheek every time we say our goodbyes?" Apollo asked.

"You could say that…Or it could be that I find you very cute every time you do something nice for me," Olivia spoke back in turn. Apollo's face turned the same color as Olivia's a few moments ago when he held her hand.

"Alright then, Miss Roher. I shall see you next time," Apollo said as he turned to his car.

"Bye, Mr. Justice," she said in a soft, angelic voice that froze Apollo from getting into his car. _"Wow…that went surprisingly well. What's more is that she thinks I'm cute. Yes!_" thought Apollo. He finally got back into his car where he drove back to his apartment for a nice cat nap before tonight's dinner with Nick and Trucy.

**Hey guys, I hope you all enjoyed your summer as much as I did (which would explain the reason this chapter took so long to complete). But in any case I feel accomplished that I got it done before school starts.**

**Happy reading and thank you for coming to check out my story and subscribing to the story. It makes me happy. :3**

**Signed, GGG (Frank)**

**UPDATE: Well, it looks like my laptop finally caved in on me. Sad to say its probably going to be a while before I start the next chapter for this story ladies and gentlemen. Plus with school starting back up its going to be a while before I get a new laptop or fix my old one. I'll keep you all posted on the status because I want to keep this story going so badly. Thank you all again. :)**


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